Coverage of the Hickory Crawdads baseball team

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The Charleston RiverDogs entered Thursday night’s game with a South Atlantic League high .319 batting avg. in May. The Hickory Crawdads have the league’s worst pitching statistically. That’s proved to be a bad combination over the last two nights and on Thursday, the result was a 14-4 thrashing by Charleston in front of 2,525 fans at L.P. Frans Stadium.

For the second straight night, Charleston (17-17) scored the first nine runs of the game and cruised to victory. The Crawdads (12-21) have been outscored 25-6 over the first two games of the three-game series.

What happened?:

Charleston put the first five runners aboard and eventually sent ten to the plate in the first inning to open a 6-0 lead. Poor defense and poor pitch execution by starter Michael Matuella went hand-in-hand. (More on the defense later.)

Matuella had little command of the fastball in his lone inning, which started with a four-pitch walk to Estevan Florial. After a dubious bloop single to center by Isaiah Gilliam, Hoy Jun Park tripled in both runners. Blake Rutherford singled in Park. Oswaldo Cabrera’s sac fly got a run and Diego Castillo’s two-run single capped the scoring and ended Matuella’s night.

The RiverDogs treated lefty Sal Mendez no better in the second as they sent eight more to the plate and scored three. Gilliam reached on an error and after Park replaced him on a fielder’s choice, Donny Sands singled him in. Cabrera added two more with a single.

Brian Keller kept the Crawdads without a baserunner until the fourth before Miguel Aparicio’s grounder went through the infield. Hickory finally got on the board one inning later as Isaiah Quiroz singled in two.

Alex Kowalczyk (2-for-4) hit a two-run homer in the sixth to cut the Crawdads deficit to 9-4.

However, RiverDogs tacked on three in the eighth and two in the ninth, all against Jake Lemoine, to account for the final margin.

“They have a good hitting ballclub, no doubt,” said Crawdads manager Spike Owen. “We just have to find a way pitching wise to limit the damage and make better pitches. That’s the bottom line. We’re not doing it. We’re not getting it done. The last two nights, we’ve not given our offense a chance to do anything.”

Crawdads pitching beginning to look historic… and not in a good way.

As a team, the Crawdads 5.72 ERA and 1.59 WHIP are the worst in the Sally League. They also have allowed the most hits, runs, and earned runs. With the quarter of the season two games away, one begins to look at how they stack up to Crawdads club records. They’re chasing a few.

Hickory has had just two seasons with an ERA over five, which came in back-to-back seasons in 2007 (5.13) and 2008 (5.02). The club record for the worst WHIP in a season is 1.54 in 2007. The Crawdads are also on pace to set club records for the most hits, runs and earned runs allowed.

Defense was offensive:

While Matuella didn’t have his best stuff, some of the first inning struggles could be laid at the feet of the defense.

After Florial walked, Gilliam hit a short fly to center that appeared to be an easy can of corn for Leody Taveras. Meanwhile, shortstop Anderson Tejeda and second baseman Yeyson Yrizarri were pulling a double-play decoy on Florial running hard to second. The decoy worked beautifully except… Taveras couldn’t pick up the ball and with no fielders pointing out the ball, eventually it fell harmless to the turf. So what could’ve been a double play with Florial totally fooled at second turned into a 1st & 2nd situation with no outs.

Later in the inning, a routine double play turned into one out when Tejeda’s throw to first went wide of Yanio Perez’s stretch at first.

And still later in the inning, 3B Ti’Quan Forbes took his time on a grounder by Ben Ruta. Forbes circled around to make the play, but as he appeared in no particular hurry to complete the play, Forbes throw to first was beaten by the hustling Ruta.

A frustrated Owen spread the blame around equally between hurlers and defenders.

“It accumulates and everything when you don’t make plays,” said Owen. “But, we talk to (the pitchers) all the time that sometimes you’re going to have to get four outs and sometimes five outs in an inning. You’re even going to do that in the big leagues. Obviously, not nearly as much, because they are big league infielders, but they have to overcome those things. They sooner they learn that and figure it out rather than say, ‘I should’ve been out of the inning’ or whatever. It is what it is out there….”

Owen later added, “We’ve got to clean it up all the way around, especially the pitching and defense. We’ve been working really hard during the last four defensively and cutting b.p. time saying ‘Let’s have a clean game.’ We haven’t been able to do that.”

Better Call Sal:

Once Mendez got settled, he went on to retire the last 14 batters he faced and fanned 6 over 5.1 innings. His work allowed the Crawdads offense to chip away at the lead and take some momentum into the late innings.

The two parts of his outing show just how careful he has to be with his stuff. His changeup is a formidable pitch, at least at this level, and had 7 or 8 missed bats. That with his fastball at 90-91, if he keeps his pitches down, he’s tough.

“I thought Mendez did a really nice job,” Owen said. “His first inning of work he left some balls up and he paid for it. Then he comes out and puts up zeroes from that point on. That’s a good adjustment by him.”

Batter Adjustments:

The way that Charleston starter Brian Keller mowed through the first three innings, it looked like history was in the making. He fanned six of the first ten hitters, which included a 10-pitch, three-strikeout third inning. The second time through the order, Keller started missing his location and the Crawdads hitters adjusted to the breaking ball.

Owen: “The guy that started was impressive and did exactly what you’d want to see with a guy that’s got a nine-run lead in popping and pounding the zone. We made some adjustments. It’s good to see that you’re down nine runs and still have competitive at bats from our side.”

Smoral on the Fire:

Lefty Matt Smoral made his Crawdads and Rangers affiliate debut on Thursday. A tall presence at 6-8, a SLOW delivery seemed to make his fastball even faster as it whipped from his left hand to the plate. However, the delivery never seemed in control as he flailed about the mound. There’s a lot of moving parts to the motion.

Smoral walked two and threw quite the wild pitch to the back stop. Control has been the issue for the former Toronto Blue Jays first-round pick as he has walked or hit 122 batters in 107.2 innings as a pro

Who was that Lemoine’s jersey?

There seemed to be a body language on the mound that said, “here ya go, hit it if you can.” And Charleston did: Five runs on six hits – all hit hard – over two innings of relief. Fastball straight as an arrow and it went to the wall harder. Throw in a walk and two wild pitches and you have a RiverDogs lineup fattening their stats.

Meanwhile, It’s the second poor outing in a row for the right-hander, who allowed two in a walkoff loss at Hagerstown (Md.) last Saturday.

The Crawdads held a 4-3 edge in the 2016 season series, but lost two of three at home to the R-Dogs in late August. The two teams have been nearly even since the 2005 season, with Hickory scraping a 59-58 edge, which includes a 29-28 mark at L.P. Frans and 30-30 at Charleston. Since the Rangers-Crawdads affiliation began in 2009, the Crawdads are 49-40 overall, 26-19 at home.

About the Crawdads:

After the bullpen blew their second 8-1 lead of the season during game two of the four-game series at Hagerstown (Md.), the Crawdads won the final two games to earn a split against the Northern Division’s current pacesetter… After a sputtered start at the plate, Hickory’s lineup has been at full throttle lately. The Crawdads have scored six or more runs during eight of the last 11 games with 8+ in six of those. Their .311 batting avg. in May (they hit .235 in April) is second in the SAL behind Charleston’s .318. Hickory scored 34 runs during the four games at Hagerstown… Despite the Crawdads strong performance at the plate, the pitching has had much to do with just a 6-5 mark over the last 11 games. Hickory remains last in the SAL in ERA (5.32), hits allowed and WHIP (1.55)… The Crawdads have had to play catch-up much of the season, scoring first in just 11 of 31 games. Even more troubling has been the ability to hold early leads as the Crawdads are 4-7 when scoring first… The series will feature two of the worst teams from the SAL in terms of fielding. The Crawdads have committed 41 errors with Charleston holding up the bottom with 46. Hickory’s errors have led to 29 unearned runs, trailing just Augusta (Ga.) in that category.

Prospects to watch- Hickory:

CF Leody Taveras (No. 1 MLB.com and Baseball America, No. 51 MLB.com top-100 prospects): Signed as international free agent 2015 out of Tenares, Dominican Republic. The 18-year-old has seen the ball incredible well over the past two weeks. Over his last 14 games, Taveras has 238 pitches and he has more hits (19) than swinging strikes (15). In his last 18 games, he is 25-for-69 (.362) with three doubles, a triple, a homer, 12 runs scored, 15 RBI, 6 walks, and 12 Ks.

SS Anderson Tejeda (No. 7 MLB.com, No. 16 Baseball America). Signed as an international free agent in 2015 out of Bani, D.R. Has been error prone lately with five miscues over his last six games and 6 in his last 9. Has begun to percolate at the plate, however. Tejeda went 4-for-11 in the last 3 games with five runs scored and a three-run homer. Shows some struggles not uncommon for an 18-year-old in a full-season league – 36 Ks in 108 PAs (36%) – but his 15 walks (14%) is quite uncommon for this level.

OF Yanio Perez (No. 15 MLB.com, 27 Baseball America): Signed as an international free agent out of Havana, Cuba. Has asserted himself as THE big bat in the lineup over the last couple of weeks. Has at least one hit in 13 of the last 14 games (24-for-53) with a slash line of .453/.492/.830. Has just 10 Ks during this stretch.

2B Yeyson Yrizarri (No. 17 MLB.com): Signed as an international free agent in 2013 out of the D.R. After a 1-for-39 funk (.065) to start the season, Yrizarri is nearly back to the .200 mark (.196/.222/.304). Had a four-hit game during a 7-inning contest on Sunday and went 7-for-15 at Hagerstown.

RHP Michael Matuella (No. 19 Baseball America, No. 20 MLB.com). Third-round pick in 2015 out of Duke Univ. Was on the path of becoming a first-overall pick in 2015 before back troubles and then Tommy John surgery derailed that promise. He pitched in only three innings last summer at short-season Spokane before further elbow tenderness caused the Rangers to shut him down. Threw 46 pitches in his first start vs. Columbia, then pushed up to 56 last week at West Virginia. Had 5 Ks vs. Columbia, none vs. the Power.

RF Jose Almonte (No. 28 MLB.com): Signed as an international free agent in 2013 out of Santo Domingo, D.R. Missed a week with a leg injury and then returned during the road trip and went 5-for-23 with two walks. Has seven free passes in 23 games after just 9 all last year.

RHP Tyler Ferguson (No. 30 Baseball America, No. 30 MLB.com): Sixth-round pick in 2015 out of Vanderbilt. Working on a string of five straight scoreless outings covering 7.1 innings with 14 Ks. Went 5-for-12 in the series at Hagerstown with a homer and 7 RBI.

Others to watch – Hickory:

C Alex Kowalczyk: 12th-round pick in 2016 out of Pittsburgh. Getting the bulk of playing time at catcher due to an injury to starter Ricky Valencia.

OF Franklin Rollin: 2013 international free agent out of La Romana, D.R. Continues to press for playing time with strong performances at the plate. Had a four-hit game Saturday at Hagerstown and has hits in 6-of-7.

RHP Kyle Cody: 6th-round pick in 2016 out of Kentucky. Along with Jonathan Hernandez, Cody has held steady in the rotation. Has lost three straight starts, but has allowed just four earned runs (three homers) and fanned 11 over 15.2 innings in that stretch.

About the RiverDogs:

Managed by Pat Osborn in his first season at Charleston. Obsorn managed high-A Tampa to the Florida State League finals in 2016… The R-Dogs lead the SAL with a .318 average in May, but are 2-5 so far, all during a just-concluded homestand. Four of the losses were by one run, which bumped the R-Dogs to 4-8 in such games this season… Playing at a home ballpark that is not conducive to power, as a team, the R-Dogs single opponents to death. Charleston is second in the SAL in hits, but in the middle of the league in homers and dead last with just ten homers. The R-Dogs are third in the league at .266 and they put the ball in play. Charleston has the second fewest K… On the mound, the staff has fanned the most in the SAL, something that bears watching in facing a team with the second most Ks at the plate.

Prospects to watch –Charleston:

CF Blake Rutherford: (No. 3 MLB.com, No. 3 Baseball America) First-round pick in 2016 out of Chaminade Prep (Canoga Park, CA). Played for 18-and-under USA National Team. After a satisfactory first month (.277/.388/.361) of the season, the 20-year-old is perhaps feeling the grind as the calendar turned to May (.182/.240/.318). Will work a walk (17 in 123 PAs), but is learning to watch breaking balls as is 29 Ks might indicate. Despite hitting left-handed, he has handled left-handed pitching quite well (.326 to .210 vs. righties). Currently fourth in the SAL with 10 doubles and sixth in walks. Has fanned 7 times over his last five games. Signed a Yankees-record $3.2 million contact, the most for a hitter draftee.

CF Estavan Florial: (No. 14 Baseball America, No. 16 MLB.com) International free agent in 2015 from Port au Prince, Haiti. Saw a 10-game hitting streak end in the finale of the R-Dogs homestand. Is fourth in the SAL in runs scored. Has 35 Ks in 125 PAs, 7th in the league.

C Donny Sands (No. 26 MLB.com) 8th-round pick in 2015 out of Salpointe Catholic (Tucson, AZ). Is 10-for-40 over his last ten games. A project at the plate, the former 3B is currently at the bottom of the SAL in catching base stealers, nabbing just 9 of 46 trying to steal.

Others to watch –Charleston:

SS Hoy Jun Park: International free agent in 2014 out of Seoul, South Korea. Leads SAL with a .362 average and is 9th in slugging (.532). Went 9-for-16 over the last four games. Currently in his second season at Charleston.

RHP Nick Green: Acquired by the Yankees in a trade with the Rangers last summer. Went to the Yanks along with former Crawdads Dillon Tate and Erik Swanson. Threw a one-hitter over eight innings and fanned nine in his last start on Saturday. Has allowed just four hits over his last 14.2 innings (two starts) with 16 Ks. Relies on a sinker to get grounders, has a 2.60 GO/AO and has yet to allowed a run in four road starts.

Note: The Crawdads sent OF Eric Jenkins and Argenis Rodriguez to the Rangers extended spring and received OF Miguel Aparicio and RHP Matt Smoral.

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